Brandon Jones claimed the pole position for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ MillerTech Battery 250 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, June 13.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-truck, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each competitor cycled around Pocono Raceway once, aiming to post the fastest lap. The competitor who posted the single fastest lap was awarded the pole position.
In Saturday’s qualifying session, Jones, who commenced Saturday’s on-track activities by being the second-fastest competitor in practice, posted his fastest qualifying lap at 164.576 mph in 54.686 seconds. Jones’ lap was enough for the 29-year-old native of Atlanta, Georgia, to knock teammate Taylor Gray off the top of the qualifying charts.
With the pole, Jones notched his 15th O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career pole for his 352nd series start. It was his first pole position of the 2026 season and his first at Pocono. It was also his first since starting in first place in the 2025 season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway this past November. On a milestone note, Jones delivered the 200th O’Reilly pole for the Toyota manufacturer.
Jones will share the front row with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Taylor Gray. Gray, who was the 16th-fastest competitor in practice and who won a pole at Phoenix Raceway this past March, posted his best qualifying lap at 164.387 mph in 54.749 seconds.
William Byron, who is scheduled to make his third and final O’Reilly start of the 2026 season in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry for JR Motorsports, will start in third place after he posted a qualifying lap at 164.273 mph in 54.787 seconds. Byron will share the second row with teammate Justin Allgaier, the current points leader, as Allgaier posted the fourth-fastest qualifying lap in Saturday’s session at 164.240 mph in 54.798 seconds.
Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Brent Crews, Ryan Sieg and William Sawalich completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively. Connor Zilisch, the reigning O’Reilly winner at Pocono, will start in 14th place.
Notably, Cole Custer, who is making his fourth O’Reilly start of the 2026 season, will start in 36th place. Fuel pressure issues during practice prevented him from posting a qualifying lap. In addition, Nathan Byrd, Blaine Perkins and Dexter Bean will start 32nd to 34th, respectively, after the trio wrecked separately during their qualifying runs.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all made the main event.
Pocono – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:
- Brandon Jones, 164.576 mph, 54.686 seconds
- Taylor Gray, 164.387 mph, 54.749 seconds
- William Byron, 164.273 mph, 54.787 seconds
- Justin Allgaier, 164.240 mph, 54.798 seconds
- Sammy Smith, 163.866 mph, 54.923 seconds
- Carson Kvapil, 163.758 mph, 54.959 seconds
- Sam Mayer, 163.613 mph, 55.008 seconds
- Brent Crews, 163.488 mph, 55.050 seconds
- Ryan Sieg, 163.283 mph, 55.119 seconds
- William Sawalich, 163.274 mph, 55.122 seconds
- Corey Day, 163.135 mph, 55.169 seconds
- Anthony Alfredo, 162.981 mph, 55.221 seconds
- Parker Retzlaff, 162.755 mph, 55.298 seconds
- Connor Zilisch, 162.737 mph, 55.304 seconds
- Jeremy Clements, 162.622 mph, 55.343 seconds
- Sheldon Creed, 162.590 mph, 55.354 seconds
- Austin Hill, 162.437 mph, 55.406 seconds
- Jeb Burton, 162.273 mph, 55.462 seconds
- Brennan Poole, 162.051 mph, 55.538 seconds
- Kyle Sieg, 161.815 mph, 55.619 seconds
- Jesse Love, 161.516 mph, 55.722 seconds
- Nick Sanchez, 161.080 mph, 55.873 seconds
- Harrison Burton, 160.614 mph, 56.035 seconds
- Ryan Ellis, 160.602 mph, 56.039 seconds
- Lavar Scott, 160.154 mph, 56.196 seconds
- Rajah Caruth, 160.083 mph, 56.221 seconds
- Patrick Staropoli, 160.083 mph, 56.221 seconds
- Patrick Emerling, 159.148 mph, 56.551 seconds
- Leland Honeyman Jr., 159.143 mph, 56.553 seconds
- Carson Ware, 156.544 mph, 57.492 seconds
- Natalie Decker, 155.623 mph, 57.832 seconds
- Nathan Byrd, 130.223 mph, 69.112 seconds
- Blaine Perkins, 76.787 mph, 117.208 seconds
- Dexter Bean, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
- Dean Thompson, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
- Cole Custer, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
- Josh Bilicki, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
- Joey Gase, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
The 2026 MillerTech Battery 250 at Pocono Raceway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 13, at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.
